With STEM jobs--those requiring degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math-related fields--currently accounting for more than 10% of positions in the U.S.--engineers are in strong demand. So which companies are most attractive to those students poised to enter this sought-after field?

To determine which employers are providing engineering students the most coveted opportunities, global research and advisory firm Universum asked nearly 8,000 undergraduate engineering students to identify, from a pool of 230 companies, the employers for which they most wanted to work. Students were allowed to choose up to five companies but required to identify only one.

Kevin Troy, head of research at Universum, says students' awareness of a company comes from both consumer recognition as well as a company's employer brand, and that companies whose reputations are largely for "making cool things" are often most eye-catching to young engineers.

comes in first this year, knocking last year's winner, NASA, into second place. An indication of the spectrum of employers providing opportunities to future engineers, , , and round out the top five.

While the rallying cry for STEM talent spans employers, data shows that engineers' employment preferences skew towards more traditional manufacturing and extractive fields, with "engineering and manufacturing" ranked most preferred by nearly 70% of respondents, followed distantly by "energy," and "aerospace and defense."

The shale and gas boom have also shifted goals for many engineering students, as well as a resurgence in hiring in the private sector and budget cuts across government agencies. This year's data shows a rise in the popularity of oil and gas firms like Halliburton--which jumped 30 places to spot 56--and operations and strategy consultancies like Accenture, McKinsey, and Deloitte, which appears on the list this year in spot 64 despite its absence last year.

Government agencies and military services, meanwhile, saw significant losses in popularity. NASA fell out of first place and the Department of Energy dropped out of the top 10 to 12th place. Only the NIH held its ground in the top 100.

At the other end of the spectrum, engineering jobs associated with fields such as "auditing and accounting," "real estate," "insurance," "tourism, and "retail" were preferred by less than five percent of those surveyed.

And while engineers do want to be paid competitively, they evaluate jobs along a host of other metrics as well, including job security, a "creative and dynamic" work environment, opportunities for professional development, innovation, challenges, and strong leadership. When engineering candidates consider factors beyond salary, Google scores the highest as an innovative workplace, Bloomberg LP provides the greatest variety of assignments, and the U.S. Army offers the most leadership opportunities.

Universum's research shows that the career goals of engineering students changed markedly following the financial crisis. In spring of 2008, the number one goal of engineering students was "to achieve work-life balance" with four other goals roughly tied for second place. By 2009, "job security" had risen to the second spot, with goals like "dedication to a cause" and "intellectual challenges" trailing further behind.

"The gaps between ['dedication to a cause' and 'intellectual challenges'] and 'security and stability' have been closing," says Troy, "and we’re seeing this as a sign of things coming back to normal. Students aren't in this kind of fearful attitude about needing to find something that pays well and will continue to employ them for several years after they graduate, they’re beginning to take other things into consideration as well."